


Transience

by lethaldesires



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Athelbert - Freeform, Athelnar - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Short Write Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-15
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-25 11:23:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2619980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethaldesires/pseuds/lethaldesires
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Athelstan remembers his past...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Transience

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Post Link:
> 
> http://lethal-desires.tumblr.com/post/102631125533/transience-on-the-crest-of-the-plateau-rested-the

                                                                 

On the crest of the plateau rested the old monastery, looking down upon the green meadows above sandy shores and the expanse of deep blue water. At its magnificent bell tower, Athelstan stood, wistful and riveted by a faint sense of melancholy.

“Quite the view; is it not, father?” Eadred, a young monk, attempted at a conversation.

Athelstan had been of few words – silenced and scarred by a past that was seldom spoken of, but one that he always remembered. The lines of wisdom on his face and the evident grey strands marked his age, but those memories had never faded; they remained alive as the youthful gleam in his eyes.

“The ocean - such a force of divine beauty.” Eadred added.

Athelstan hummed softly, as he placed a hand on the pillar for support, his weakening body defying his will.

“It may extend to unfathomable vastness, trying to touch the heavens at the horizons, and it may run to indefinite depths, hiding within it mysteries of time. Its might and beauty is, indeed, absolute. Yet, it is not a force on its own. There is more to it than what meets the eye…” Athelstan explicated to his protégé. 

“It wavers at the sun’s gusty limbs, thrashing against lands unknown, and in its scorching stroke the ocean surrenders, letting a part of its essence effervesce away, which then rises as white softness to reach the savage of the skies, only to be returned home. And the moon - calm and elegant though it may seem - beckons the ocean toward it, attempting to claim it in a potent embrace. And though it tries to take flight to the inviting haven, anchored the ocean remains. Thus, forever it sways in cadent waves and uneven tides, flowing aimlessly and reflecting the forces that it may never be united with. But, somewhere along, it flourishes, nurturing life, by the goodness, which from within it is brought forth.”

Athelstan lowered his eyes to look at the bracelet – a gift from the pagan lands - that was partly hidden by the sleeve of his soutane, as his fingers curled around the golden cross, at the base of which was an engraved seal of a late king of Wessex. 

“And without the distant star and the earth’s kindred companion, the ocean would be nothing but unbounded emptiness -” 

His misty eyes gazed back at the crashing waves.

“Lifeless and still.”

** ~ _|è†hål ð³§ir³s_ **


End file.
